June 30, 2008

The Top 10 Regular Season Games in Seahawks History

First of all, a hat-tip to Enjoy the Enjoyment for giving DKSB some exposure. ETE is a great spot for anyone who follows Seattle sports, y'all... If you haven't yet, check it out.

If you're going to make a list of the greatest games in Seahawks history, playoff games HAVE TO top the list... From the '83 miracle in Miami to the Tony Romo game, the absolute greatest games in Seahawks history have been post-season affairs.

So I decided to up the ante: What are the best REGULAR SEASON games in Seahawks history? A couple of initial observations:

-I started following the Seahawks in 1983 at age 8.. so you won't see any games on the list before that. I invite grizzled Hawk vets to suggest games from 76-82.

-No losses. Frankly, it was bad enough to experience any loss the first time, so you won't see any Seattle losses on this list. For example, you could argue that the Testaverde "phantom touchdown" game was "great" in that it led to the hiring of Mike Holmgren... But I'm not going in that direction.

Just to get the torment out of the way, here are the 5 most painful regular season losses in Seahawks history:

10. Seahawks 27, Packers 7 (1999)The '99 season spiraled out of control a few weeks later, but on one glorious Monday Night it looked like Seattle was headed for XXXIV. In Holmgren's return to Lambeau, the Hawks dominated the Packers in front of a national audience, inspiring me to look into how long the drive from Columbus, Ohio to Atlanta would be. Yeah... We all know how that turned out...

9. Seahawks 30, Rams 28 (2006)I considered putting Seattle's 2005 win at STL here, but the 2006 victory was even more satisfying. The Hawks came back from a halftime deficit, overcame a back-breakingly spectacular TD catch by Torry Holt, won on a 54 yard FG at the gun, and made Scott Linehan look like a jabbering idiot.

8. Seahawks 24, 49ers 17 (2003)The Seahawks needed a win on the road to keep their wild-card hopes alive on the last weekend of the 2003 season, and quickly fell into a 14-0 hole. Seattle got it together, and held off a later SF rally to stay alive. The right teams won/lost the next day to put Seattle in the playoffs, which they haven't missed in any season since.

7. Seahawks 34, Bears 21 (1987)In the great Walter Payton's final regular season game at Soldier Field, the Seahawks were an afterthought, barely a notch above Homer Simpson stepping into the ring with "opponent" on his robe before his fight with Drederick Tatum.

The Hawks were playing for their playoff lives, and it showed in a rousing win punctuated by a 75-yard catch-and-run TD by John L. Williams.

6. Seahawks 45, Chiefs 0 (1984)5. Seahawks 51, Chiefs 48 (1983)Two home games against KC, and two classics in Seahawk legend. In 1983, Seattle won what was probably the CRAZIEST game in Kingdome history behind 207 yards and 3 TDs from Curt Warner. In '84, Seattle DBs ran back an NFL record FOUR interceptions for touchdowns in a 45-0 route of the Chefs.

4. Seahawks 24, Patriots 6 (1983)In 1983's regular season finale, the winner would grab a Wild-Card playoff berth. The Seahawks stomped the Pats and took a famous post-game curtain call to thank the rabid Kingdome crowd (an honor that would return after Seattle clinched the #1 seed in 2005).

This game gets extra points because it was also the first Seahawks game I attended in person.

3. Seahawks 43, Raiders 37 (1988)Another regular season finale where the winner would make the playoffs. In this case, the Seahawks were playing for their first AFC West title. On a damp, dreary day at the LA Coliseum, the Hawks pulled ahead in the 4th and held on for the biggest regular-season road win in team history (Once again keyed by a spectacular John L. Williams TD on a perfectly executed "middle screen").

A few weeks earlier we got the first real glimpse of where that 2005 squad was headed... So many images are seared into my brain from that day:

-Bledsoe being stopped cold on 3rd down...-Ryan Hannam's sliding TD catch to tie the game...-Big Play Babs picking off Bledsoe and streaking down the sideline into FG range...-JB's tossing his helmet and being mobbed after hitting the game winner...

4 comments:

I would switch #1 & #2, but they were both great. Mostly because the electricty level was higher in the croud for the Giants Game.But my comment is on the Cowboys game.

Also, because of that game we have a dog named Babineaux. My wife will not allow children to be named after Seahawks or Mariners. Boo.

The seats next to mine are owned by a Canadian business, so I have different people next to me at each game. Sure enough at the Cowboys game there was a Cowboys fan next to me. It sure was sweet getting the last word on that douche bag.

There were some good games in 1978 and 1979. I remember a game against the Raiders in 1978 where we won on a last-second 45-yard FG by Efren Herrera. I think the final was 17-16. We beat them again that year 27-10 at home, which was also glorious.

Meet Your Blogger

I've been a Twelve since 1983 (and I haven't missed a game since then). I've been a season-ticket holder since 1997, and I've been writing this blog since 2008. My all-time favorite Seahawks player is Dave Krieg, and my favorite current Seahawk is Russell Wilson. Thanks for stopping by! -Ramona Peel